The present invention relates to testing apparatus and methods useful in connection with lung disease, in particular but not exclusively chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Biomarkers whose regulation is perturbed in lung disease patients have been used to diagnose and aid treatment of lung diseases such as COPD. Typical biomarkers comprise protein analytes, collected from patient sputum and tested using reagent kits. Such analytes also exist in serum, bronchial samples and saliva and may be tested in other ways, for example using immunoassays or microarrays. However, there is little known correlation between levels of typical biomarkers and the day to day wellbeing of patients with or susceptible to lung disease.